All posts tagged ‘female leads’

High speed motion picture of jet engine, 1946. Photo from user “NASA on The Commons” at Flickr CC.

I remember the time when my mom decided to educate us teenagers about classic movies. The only one I remember specifically was Grease, which you’d think would be a great one for teenagers due to all the underage drinking and the singing and dancing, but the whole thing was a horrible disaster. We teased her mercilessly about her film choices, complaining about everything from the granularity of the film to the ridiculous hairstyles.

Now that I’m older and wiser, I finally understand the lesson that my mom was trying to teach us: Never have teenagers.

But seriously, the lesson I did learn is that perhaps I should get my daughter started earlier on classic movies. Will that help cure the next generation’s jaded appetite for the new and the technologically advanced? Will it help her see the value of a good story over that of flashy graphics and gratuitous special effects? Unfortunately, I don’t have all the answers. But I do know is that I’m having fun in the process of learning the answers to those questions.

One of the great things about classic movies, from a purely parental perspective, is that American movies made from 1930 to 1968 had to abide by the Motion Picture Production Code. The Production Code, also known at Hays Code, was a morality code instated in 1930 to allegedly save Hollywood’s reputation after an especially wild decade. It was made legally possible due to a 1915 Supreme Court ruling that motion pictures were not included in the free speech amendment.

During its effective period, the Code required American motion picture companies to have their films approved by the Production Code Administration before release. The Code featured a long list of “Don’ts” and “Be Carefuls.” Don’ts were obviously going to get your film rejected, Be Carefuls were to be tread warily. For example, the Code included some now-considered-mild offenses like profanity (especially religious profanity), scenes encouraging empathy towards crimes against the law, detailed methods for petty crimes like theft, any presentation of illegal drug trafficking, and finally and obviously sex in just about any form (including overly passionate kissing, undressing, and suggestive dances or poses). Even just the use of a bedroom as the location for a scene had to be done very carefully.

The Code was finally brought down in 1968. Its downfall came for many reasons. One was the threat of television to the motion picture industry. The motion picture industry needed to offer more incentive (read “scantily clad women”) to convince their audience to leave the comfort of their television set, which — thankfully for cinema — was guided under even stricter morality guides. The rising of foreign cinema also offered competition to the American industry. Moreover, the Supreme Court overturned their 1915 ruling in 1952, which returned free speech to the motion picture industry. It is also clear that the huge mentality change of the 1960s brought on more pressure for the industry to change. In the end, the Code was modified to become the Motion Picture Association of America’s rating system that we all know today.

All of this serves as a background to say that, while I don’t agree with censorship, the Code brought along an entire era of generally “decent” films (in terms of appropriateness), a score for parents looking for family-friendly movies outside of the usual choices. Which is not to say that I’d pick any Code era film at random and show it to children without double-checking first. There are, after all, a lot of things that were considered good and wholesome morality then that we now consider sexist, racist, or discriminatory in some way. Nevertheless, there are definitively a lot of Code era movies worth perusing should you get sick of watching the latest explosion-laden, gadget-toting, oops-my-shirt-was-torn-in-the-exact-perfect-place-to-show-my-tight-abs-rocking blockbusters. Here’s a list of the GeekMoms’ favorite Code era movies.

Boys? Yes, I’d like to recommend some books with female leads that your son would enjoy reading. If your next question is “Why?,” then ask your daughter why she liked Harry Potter. She might say it was a good story, great characters, and a fantastic world. Who cares if the main character was a boy? In fact, girls will pick up a book with a hero or heroine equally. According to my excellent librarian resources, boys will actively avoid books with a girl as the main character. What’s the problem? I have no idea.

Why should you encourage your son to read books with heroines? That’s easy. You want your son to grow up knowing that a strong female for a friend, wife or boss is normal and good.

Instead of getting into the psychology of it all, let’s change it. And the best way is to get ‘em while they’re young. Here are a few adventure graphic novels that feature girl go-getters. I picked comics because when my son was young those were the only kind of books he selected on his own.

Giants Beware! By Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre
Claudette wants to battle giants. She’s a great heroine, and breaks the mold. But what makes this book stand out is her two companions. Her little brother Gaston would rather be a pastry chef than a killer, but saves the day when he needs to, and Claudette’s best friend Marie is a girly-girl who loves etiquette, but is brave and clever. In many books with a strong female lead there is rarely another main girl, and the boys are usually competitive. The threesome are silly adventurers, complete with a sweet ending. One of our GeekMoms is reading it to her kids now.

The Courageous Princess By Rod Espinosa
This is almost ten years old and a classic of graphic novels: Talking animals, a fearsome dragon, a long journey, an anthropomorphic rope, and a princess who has integrity while saving herself.

Zita the Spacegirl By Ben Hatke
My son said over breakfast this morning, “Here you egg.” A quote by Strong-Strong, beloved character from Zita. This book is fast-paced with weird aliens, comedy, betrayal, rescues, and cuteness. Zita is brave but alone in this strange world, trying to find her friend. She and her new alien companions save the day.

Akiko on the Planet Smoo By Mark Crilley
Another space adventure that was part of a book club with both boys and girls. This comes as a graphic novel and book series. There are some slight differences between them (not sure why). ALL the kids in the club loved the story. Akiko is a human girl who is taken up to space to help some aliens in trouble. She’s a cool character. And Spuckler- we loved this guy. If you read Akiko out loud, do him in a John Wayne voice. It works.

Angelic Layer By Clamp.
A manga (Japanese comic) about a world where the premier entertainment is fighting dolls (called Angels) using mental control in huge arenas. The main character is a little girl who gets into the game wanting her battle Angel to be “a short girl, but brave and happy.” I can’t say I ever got into this series, but both my kids were addicted at a young age. My son would tell me about the fighting moves ad nauseam.

The Stonekeeper (Amulet, Book 1) By Kazu Kibuishi
The art is entrancing, and the main characters are a brother and sister. When a tentacled monster grabs their mom, Em and Navin are the only ones to save her, entering a dark universe with a magic necklace to help. Scary at times (which makes it cool.)

Nightschool By Svetlana Chmakova.
Definitely for the older son in your life; this is my family’s favorite graphic series. A secret world within our world where different factions sometimes battle, sometimes work together to keep the really bad things away from humans. Epic fights along with cute comedy, and a reluctant heroine Alex, who is powerful beyond what anyone expects. You can read my full review here.

This list gets progressively for older kids, so please flip through them before handing it to your impressionable boy (especially the manga which has provocative poses.) And of course, your girls will love them too!

I love video games. Strike that. I love GOOD video games. The distinction is especially important right now because starting Friday, I’ll be at PAX East for three solid days of VG-playtime.

For those who haven’t heard of it, PAX East is a big-deal video game convention where game developers large and small descend on Boston to ply fans and the press with exclusive demonstrations and freebies. They hope we’ll provide the buzz necessary to launch their latest releases like viral videos.

As a gamer and a discerning person, I’m happy to draw attention to good games. Of course, the question is: How do I identify a good game? No two gamers are likely to answer that the same way because the criteria by which we judge games are strongly influenced by the context of our opinions. Who we are and what we want and expect from games, in other words.

Over the course of the coming week, I’ll be reviewing the games I play at PAX East. Ahead of the event, I expect some disappointments. Most video games are clones of each other – pale imitators trying to be the next Mario Bros, Pole Position, World of Warcraft, or Doom. Most video games are made without women in mind. Where there are playable female characters at all, I expect to find highly sexualized vixens, and any non-player characters will probably be poorly nuanced damsels in distress. Like television shows, most of the video games designed for kids (and women) are vapid time sinks and I expect to see many examples of that sad trend at the convention.

All that said, I anticipate some pleasant surprises. PAX East is where game developers go to make their best impressions on the masses, after all. Some of the art will be dazzling, some of the puzzles will bedevil me, and some of the jokes will not be offensive. And for all the weak-minded joystick jockeys out there who may argue that my reviews won’t matter because I’m just a girl? Watch out. This Geek Mom Pwns Noobs*.

*To Pwn Noobs is to completely obliterate your opponent in any event where there is competition.

This list immediately began forming when I was sitting next to two college girls on the subway. One girl was incredulous that the other had never seen 9 to 5. Overhearing this, I shared her incredulity. How can a young woman make it in this world if she lacks the historical and pop-culture awareness that only a screening of 9 to 5 can bring?

Here are 20 characters that every geek girl should be introduced to before they leave for college, in order from characters you can introduce to young children to ones where you pretty much want to wait until they’re college-bound. These characters all persevere against hardships of one form or another, and they all play a starring role (with apologies to fabulous supporting players like Hermione, Elastigirl, and Lisa Simpson).

1. Olivia – Whether on the page or the TV screen, this diva for the preschool set always dreams big, imagining herself in a wide array of fantasy situations to get through the nuisances of everyday life.

2. WordGirl – Designed as an educational superhero, WordGirl is hilarious, unafraid, and her big words are mightier than the villains’ swords (or cuts of meat).

Kiki's Delivery Service

3. Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service – At 13, Kiki is ready to strike out on her own, figuring out how to become a real witch (and quite an entrepreneur). See also: any other Miyazaki girl character.

5. Pippi Longstocking – Who wouldn’t want Pippi next door, with her horse, her monkey, and her world without limits?

6. Wonder Woman – Her Superfriends self is great for the younger kids, but save the awesomeness of the Lynda Carter twirl and the comic world for the older ones.

7. Nancy Drew – She’s gone through many changes over her long history, but you can always count on Nancy’s intelligence as she cracks the case. See also: Harriet the Spy.

8. Meg Murray from A Wrinkle in Time – An awkward heroine makes her way through a sci-fi world to save her family. What more do you need?

9. Daria – Daria is the perfect role model for coming up with intelligent zingers in the face of stupidity.

10. Buffy from Buffy The Vampire Slayer – I really don’t have to explain the awesomeness of vampire slaying to GeekMom readers, right? Add Willow, Faith, and Anya and you’ve got a show every girl should see.

The Legend of Billie Jean

11. Billie Jean from The Legend of Billie Jean – Three words: fair is fair! (Note: this should be disqualified for the makeover-to-be-powerful, but it’s too awesome not to include.)

12. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games – Katniss is flawed, complex, rebellious, and powerful, and my need to root for her is what keeps me reading and rereading The Hunger Games trilogy.

13. Violet, Judy, and Doralee from 9 to 5 – Yes, they inspired this list, but they also overthrew a corrupt and sexist corporate structure to become the head honchos. See also: Murphy Brown, Mary Tyler Moore, and J.C. from Baby Boom.

14. Natalie, Dylan, and Alex from Charlie’s Angels – I’m going to go with the McG movie version of the angels over the classic TV show, simply because of the angels’ amazing action sequences. Bad taste in men, though.

15. Dana Scully from The X-Files – Always grounded in science and logic, Scully held her own against Mulder’s ongoing conspiracy theories. See also: Temperance Brennan from Bones.

16. Charly from The Long Kiss Goodnight – Geena Davis blossoming from Samantha the schoolmarm to Charly the killer spy is nothing but fun to watch. (Note: this movie also gets the Billie Jean makeover exemption.)

17. Sydney Bristow from Alias – Sure, every episode is a makeover for Sidney, but the combination of her amazing ability to take on different personas with her fighting and technical abilities with her love of family and friends make her a complex character to be reckoned with.

18. Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica – The best thing they did when they revamped Battlestar Galactica is make Starbuck into a woman and put her at the very center of the path to Earth.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

19. Beatrix Kiddo aka The Bride from Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 – Does anything say perseverance more than the relentless training Black Mamba endured that enabled her to punch her way out of a coffin buried six feet under? Plus, there’s the unforgettable sword fight against O-Ren Ishii. See also: Jackie Brown and Shosanna from Inglorious Basterds.

20. Marge Gunderson from Fargo – My favorite movie character of all time, pregnant Marge is able to take down the über-violent bad guy single-handedly. Bonus points for her pregnancy having nothing to do with the movie’s plot.

This is the list I can’t wait to work my way through with my daughter (and my son, for that matter). Who am I missing? Who’s on your list?